Labels Lie! Here's the proof...

I don't normally eat a lot of processed food (and this post in and of itself explains mostly why!) but I was cat-sitting for my parents while they were out of town and happened to be there around dinner time.  I was hungry and I saw this in the pantry and thought, "Serves two!  Perfect!  I'm one, and I can save the other serving for later!"

Upon closer inspection (and unfortunately after I had eaten half the container thinking that was a serving), I realized I had been conned. 

Notice that on the label, it states that the package contains "about 4" servings...  I guess, theoretically, it DOES serve two... and then some.  But how many of us would assume the same thing I did?  And I KNOW packaged food is often labeled in a misleading way. 

It turns out that the actual serving turns out to be about a half cup of tortellini.  I don't know about you, but a half cup of tortellini doesn't seem like much of a meal to me!  If you were to split this bag in half to "serve 2," you would actually be getting almost a GRAM of sodium and 14 grams of fat!  And that doesn't even include the salt they suggest you use in the cooking water or the sauce you use on your pasta.

What would my dinner (also ready in 10 minutes) look like at home?  Perhaps half a grilled chicken breast (thank you, George Foreman grill!), some steamed or frozen veggies, a salad, and some flatbread or half a sweet potato (followed by some dark chocolate or fruit for dessert.. YUM!).  It's certainly more filling, more satisfying, and better for you!

So it seems my "convenient" dinner wasn't so convenient after all.

What foods have surprised YOU either by how healthy and easy they turned out to be, or by how unhealthy they were once you read the label?  Leave them in the comments below...